Thursday, April 30, 2009

In hockey you have the Wheat Kings, Oil Kings and Salmon Kings. Now meet the Drama Kings.The defending RBC Cup champions from Humboldt, Sask., are actually named the Broncos but they might consider changing their nickname and becoming the D-Kings because high-tension drama seems to be their forte.Humboldt is returning to the national Junior ‘A’ championship and will face the host Victoria Grizzlies on Saturday evening at Bear Mountain Arena in the opener of the five-team tournament.Just how the Broncos rode into the Bear is a tale in itself. Trailing the Manitoba Junior Hockey Leaguechampion Portage Terriers 3-1 in the best-of-seven Anavet Cup, the Saskatchewan Junior League champions rallied to win the series 4-3. Humboldt won both Games 6 and 7 in overtime on the road in Portage.Yesterday’s Broncos comeback within Game 7, or the Portage collapse if you wish to view it that way, was astounding. Portage led 4-1 with less than 12 minutes to play in regulation time and the Terriers could practically smell the cherry blossoms in Victoria. Book the flight. But wait. There came a fateful five-minute major for kneeing called on Portage. Humboldt scored three goals to tie the game with the last coming with 47 seconds remaining in the third period. A goal at 5:56 of overtime by Nick Kalnicki capped a stunning 5-4 comeback victory for the Broncos.The Broncos had swept the Terriers 4-0 in last year’s Anavet Cup final.There was also extended drama last night in Moncton as the Summerside Western Capitals outlasted the Dieppe Gagnon Commandos 3-2 in double overtime to win the Fred Page Cup tournament final for the Eastern region Junior ‘A’ championship.Meanwhile, the Kingston, Ont., Voyageurs defeated the Fort William North Stars 4-1 yesterday in Schreiber, Ont., to take the Dudley Hewitt Cup as Central region champions.The Broncos, Western Capitals and Voyageurs join the host Grizzlies and the B.C. Hockey League champion Vernon Vipers in the 2009 RBC Cup May 2-10 in Colwood. After the Grizzlies-Broncos curtain-raiser Saturday, the tournament swings into full flourish with Vernon opening against Summerside and Kingston against Victoria on Sunday. The national tournament continues until the TSN-televised championship final May 10.With the Grizzlies hosting, and Vernon sweeping the Alberta Junior league champion Grande Prairie Storm 4-0 in the Doyle Cup, there will be two teams from the same league in the RBC Cup for the first time since 2001.

The Kingston Voyageurs will be one of the mostbattle-tested teams at the RBC Cup.Since Feb. 12, the Voyageurs have played 29 playoff games (22-7 record) just to reach the five-team national junior A hockey championship which begins Saturday at Bear Mountain Arena.“We have a lot of playoff polish,’’ said Kingston coach Evan Robinson. “We had to go five rounds to make our way to the Dudley Hewitt Cup. It was not an easy road and probably our toughest series was against Peterborough. We won that series by taking Game 6 in their building.’’In operation since 1974, the Voyageurs beat the Fort William North Stars 4-1 in the sudden-death final of the Dudley Hewitt Cup to book their tickets for Victoria and their first RBC Cup.“Three years ago, the team was bought by Gregg Rosen [from Kimco Steel] and he wanted to have a winner in three years,’’ said Robinson. “Our wish was granted and now we are the talk of the town.’’The Voyageurs play their first game Sunday at the Bear (7 p.m.) against the host Victoria Grizzlies. The other teams in the championship are the Humboldt Broncos, Summerside Western Capitals and the Vernon Vipers.“In a tournament format like this, there isn’t much room for error. You have to hit the ice skating. If you lose a game, you have to make immediate adjustments and get ready for the next one.’’Robinson says the strength of his team is balance.“We have lots of depth with four very good lines. Our back end [defence] is also strong and we have a goaltender [Shawn Sirman] who was very hot inthe playoffs.’’Sirman played in every minute of the playoff games, posting a 2.41 goals-against average. “Shawn has been rock solid in the playoffs and he was playing so well that I couldn’t take him out.’’During the regular season, Kingston showed its scoring balance as Dustin Walsh led the way with 63 points, followed by Brock Higgs and Ben Power with 58. Mike Farrell, Jeff Blackburn and Adam McAllister all chipped in with more than 50 points.In their playoff run to the Cup, Higgs was the top scorer, followed by Farrell and Walsh.“Higgs is a very explosive player for us. But our team is not about one player or one line. We our built around a solid work ethic in both ends of the rink.“Most of our team has not been too Victoria so it will be like a bit of a holiday but our primary focus will be to win hockey games. We know that all the teams in Victoria will be exceptionally good and we can’t get overwhelmed. We have to respect our opponents and believe that we belong.’’Kingston has five players committed to NCAA Division 1 schools next year, including Sirman. One of their top prospects is 15-year-old defenceman Scott Harrington, who is ranked in the top five of the upcoming Ontario Hockey League draft. Harrington’s agent is legendary NHL defenceman Bobby Orr.

According to the odds, the Humboldt Broncos won’t repeat as RBC Cup champions — just don’t tell them that.Only the Vernon Lakers, in 1990 and ’91, and Prince Albert Raiders, ’81-’82, have ever managed to win back-to-back national Junior A hockey championships in the event’s 38-year history.The Saskatchewan boys, however, have a habit of beating the odds. When the Broncos meet the Victoria Grizzlies at Bear Mountain Arena in Saturday night’s opening game of the nine-day tournament, which also features the Vernon Vipers, Kingston, Ont., Voyageurs, and Summerside, P.E.I., Western Capitals, they’ll be considered one of the favourites.“I think it’s our willingness to not ever give up,” coach/GM Dean Brockman said, after the Broncos were dubbed the “miracle” team of the Anavet Cup, playing the Manitoba champion Portage Terriers for the second straight year for the West championship. “They didn’t want to be denied another chance at winning the national title.”Humboldt was down 3-1 to the Terriers in the best-of-seven series, when they mounted a comeback. The Broncos then found themselves trailing 4-1 midway through the third period of Game 7. They scored three late goals to win 5-4 in overtime, their third OT victory of the series.“It’s the quality of kids we have in our program,” Brockman said. “That’s who has got to do the job, day in and day out.”The quality appears to start in net and stretch across the ice for a team that finished the regular season 15 points up on the next nearest competitor. In the playoffs, 18-year-old netminder Andrew Bodnarchuk did the job early, with a 1.30 goals against average. Sidelined by an injury, he was replaced by Mathieu LaRochelle, 19, who went through the Anavet Cup with a 1.96 GAA. Both netminders will be healthy in Victoria, Brockman said, adding the reports of the team’s many bumps and bruises are true, but not that worrying.“I hope we would have bumps and bruises at this point,” he said. “If we didn’t have bumps and bruises, we wouldn’t be speaking right now.”In front of the goalies, the Broncos defence is not only tough, allowing just 130 goals in 56 regular-season games, they can score. Defenceman Tanner Vandesype stung Portage with four goals and five assists, while captain Brady Wacker, the SJHL player of the year, was third in league scoring, with 82 points in 54 games. On the front lines, Matthew Kirzinger averaged about a point a game to be named the league playoff MVP this season. Forward Shawn Hunter was the MVP of the Anavet Cup, but it wasn’t his scoring that drew the attention, rather his position atop the hit list through all seven games.The Broncos also have the benefit of eight regulars who played in last year’s RBC Cup, and the experiencefactor is a big one, along, of course, with the knowledge they know how to win when the chips are down.“It’s still kind of unbelievable,” Brockman said.

The Capitals are heading to the RBC, Lets see how they won the Fred Page Cup.

Caps Capture Fred Page!

Two down, one to go

MacIsaac scores in double overtime to send Caps to Royal Bank Cup

MONCTON, N.B.JASON SIMMONDS The Journal Pioneer

Two championships down, one more to go.Mike MacIsaac of O'Leary scored at 14:27 of the second 20-minute overtime period to give the Summerside Western Capitals a thrilling 3-2 decision over the host Dieppe Commandos in the final game of the Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian junior 'A' hockey championship at the J. Louis Levesque Arena on Sunday."It's not easy on the heart," said MacIsaac, who also scored the overtime winner in the Maritime Junior 'A' Hockey League-clinching victory against the Truro Bearcats.The Capitals will be the East representative at the Royal Bank Cup in Victoria, B.C., from May 2-10. It will be the Capitals' first appearance at the national junior 'A' championship since winning it on home ice in 1997. "It's been just a tremendous experience and to be Fred Page Cup champions in the 29-year history of the Summerside Western Capitals, there's been no team able to do that," said Capitals head coach Kenny MacDougall. "It's great to be a part of it."Before a full house of 1,509 fans, MacIsaac capped off a two-on-one to send a large and noisy contingent of Capitals' supporters into a frenzy."A great battle by Bradley Smith along boards by our bench," said MacDougall. "He kind of got hooked up and kept skating, he laid a saucer pass to Mikey and Mikey does what Mikey does best - he scores big goals. "In the first period, I was playing four lines and Mikey came to me and he said, 'Don't save me, play me.'"Do you know what?"I'm glad I did."After Chad Locke opened the scoring for the Caps at 4:29 of the first period, Chuckie Schembri (14:18) and Willie Harvey (17:21) countered to give Dieppe a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. The score remained that way until 12:01 of the third period, when Locke pulled the Caps even."Nathan Snowie came out of the corner and took a shot on net," said Locke. "I just dove at it as I was on my knees and the goalie went down to poke-check me and it went right between his legs."MacIsaac's goal spoiled a valiant effort by Dieppe goaltender Mathieu Gauvreau, who stopped 68 of 71 shots."He's an outstanding goalie and played unbelievable," said MacIsaac. "We just stayed positive as much as we could and we knew that as long as we were getting opportunities, we were going to get a bounce."While Locke and MacIsaac delivered key goals, Capitals goaltender Alex Dupuis also delivered some overtime heroics. Early in the second extra frame, Dupuis kept the Capitals alive with a blocker save off tournament most-valuable-player Ryan Stoddard on a two-on-none."Stoddard came in and tried to go low blocker," said Dupuis. "I got a good read on it and I knew he was going to go there. "They seemed to be aiming for that spot all game and I was ready for it."Dupuis finished with 33 saves -- 13 in overtime."It was especially tough today because I wasn't getting much action, so I really had to be sharp," said Dupuis. "You just have to stay focused and concentrate."

The BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies won the regular season BCHL Title with a record of 43-13-1-3 good for a league best 90 pts. Victoria would go down in 7 games to the Powell River Kings in the Coastal Conference Finals, this meaning the Grizzlies havnt played hockey since April 1st. With Victoria hosting this years Royal Bank Cup, the Grizzlies are automatic hosts and will get another shot at the RBC Cup.

The Kingston Voyageurs managed to capture the Dudley Hewitt Cup, first in franchise history. Lets see how the final game went down.

RBC BoundThe dream season continues for the Kingston KIMCO Voyageurs, as they prepare to head to Victoria, British Columbia to represent Central Canada at the Royal Bank Cup Canadian Junior "A" Hockey Championships, beginning May 2nd. The Vees avenged their round robin loss to the Fort Williams North Stars with a 4-1 victory to capture the Dudley Hewitt Cup. "I'm so proud of this group of guys," said Head Coach Evan Robinson. "We've made it as far as you can possibly make it at our level and we're going out there with the same goal we've gone everywhere else with," said Robinson.In the final game, the Vees appeared to get on the board early, as James Cameron deflected an Anthony Geldart point shot through the legs of the Stars goaltender, but the goal was called back and Cameron was given a goaltender interference penalty. Seconds later the Stars scored on the power play and took the early 1-0 lead. This time, the Vees would not let Stars hang on for the 1-0 lead and a late first period goal by Adam McAllister would tie things up after 20 minutes. After a scoreless second period, it was Jarrett Burton scoring the eventual game winner, skating out from behind the net and putting a backhander into the top corner and giving the Vees the 2-1 lead. Minutes later Burton slid a pass through the legs of Stars defenseman Randal Hanlan and to a wide open Jeff Blackburn, who made no mistake and giving the Vees a big 3-1 lead. Mike Farrell put the final nail in the coffin and the Vees skated home with a 4-1 win to capture their first Dudley Hewitt Cup in franchise history.Jarrett Burton was the Vees first star, while Jeff Blackburn was the second star and Justin evac was the third star. The line of Burton, Blackburn and Levac was dominant throughout the night in the championship game. In fact, several Voyageur players who had not played their best hockey throughout the week, all brought their A games on this night.Goaltender Shawn Sirman was named tournament MVP, allowing just two goals against in four games and rookie Brock Higgs was named the round robin's leading scorer.The Vees will now travel out to Victoria, BC to take part in the Royal Bank Cup and the many Kingston fans that traveled to Schreiber made sure they let the Vees players know it, as they began a chant of, "R-B-C, R-B-C, R-B-C" over the final 15 seconds of the game. "I thought the people that were there to support us were unbelievable all week long, but especially in that final game," said Assistant Coach Casey Torres. The Stars fans had clappers and air horns and our fans stayed right with them all game long on a noise level and I know for me personally, it gave me chills when they started chanting RBC at the end of the game," finished Torres.The Kingston KIMCO Voyageurs would like to thank the city of Schreiber, Ontario and all the tournament volunteers for putting together such a well run tournament. This was a first class tournament, run by first class people. Finally, the entire Kingston Voyageurs organization and family would like to thank Frank and Linda Trichilo, the owners of the Imperial Motel and Drifters restaurant, in which they stayed in all week and all of their terrific staff, who made the Vees stay in Terrace Bay one each and every one of us will remember for the rest of our lives. The hospitality was beyond first class and they were a huge part of our success this week and we couldn't have done it without your help.

Down 3-1 Humboldt battled back to defeat Portage to win the Anavet Cup. Lets see how Game 7 went down.

The Broncos Execute a Miracle in Game 7 of Anavet:

Scott opened the scoring 9 minutes into the game, but less than 1 ½ minutes later the Broncos found themselves down 2 – 1. Portage then scored two more unanswered goals during the second period to lead 4 to 1.

The Terriers would hold this 3 goal lead until mid-way through the 3rd period.

The turning point in the game proved to result from the 5 minute major Kneeing penalty that Cory More was handed for his vicious hit on Taylor Piller at 6:56 of the 3rd period.

With 2 minutes into the man advantage, Tanner weaved his way into the slot and fired a shot behind Mountain. Then with only 2 seconds remaining in the major penalty, Steven sent the puck on a wire just below Mountain’s glove. The shot was an absolute rocket, it would have to be as Mountain very rarely gets beaten on his glove side.

This narrowed the gap to 4 – 3 with 8:46 remaining in the game. Just over 2 minutes later the Broncos would get another power play opportunity, but would not be successful. Then with only 3:04 left in the game Shawn Hunter was put in the bin for High Sticking. The boys rallied and killed off the penalty, but they were still down a goal with just over a minute in what everyone else believed was left in their season.

Scott and Tory had other plans though. With LaRochelle on the bench, 47 seconds left on the clock and a sixth attacker on the ice; Tory scooped the puck to the front of the net where Scott shoveled it home from his knees.

The Broncos actually made another surge and nearly finished the game during regulation time, but Mountain stood tall once again and gave his Terriers one more breath of life and another chance to win the series in a game 7 overtime.

LaRochelle turned away 5 shots early in OT when with only 5:56 of the first overtime period elapsed, Nick Kalnicki became the most popular player on the Bronco’s roster, somehow beating Mountain one more time.

The Broncos led the shots 33 to 26 at the end of regulation time. During the nearly 6 minutes of overtime, the Terriers outshot the Broncos 5 – 3. LaRochelle made 26 saves for the OT win, while Mountain suffered the loss with 31 saves.

During the series there were 4 games decided in overtime. 3 were won by the Broncos while the Terriers took just one, which was game 3, the first of the series in Humboldt.

With Kalnicki’s OT winner the Bronco’s cap off a miraculous comeback, both in the series coming back from a 3 games to 1 deficit, but also in the final game 7 coming back from a 4 goals to 1 shortfall with barely 11 minutes left on the clock.

The Bronco’s are very bruised and beaten and have less than 6 days to recuperate. They open their RBC defense against the host Victoria Grizzlies at 8:00 PM (SK time) on Saturday, May 2nd.

The preliminary and semi-final rounds of the 2009 RBC Cup will be broadcast online through the British Columbia Hockey League’s pay-per-view Web TV program, the league announced Tuesday.

The broadcast schedule will commence on Saturday, May 2nd when the Victoria Grizzlies meet West region representatives Humboldt in the tournament opener at 7:00 PM. It will then carry on through the 10-game preliminary round of the event and include a pair of RBC Cup semi-final games on Friday, May 8th. The championship game on Sunday, May 10th will be carried live across Canada on TSN.

Individual RBC Cup games will be available for purchase on game days only. The cost of each individual game purchase is $7.95. All orders can be made through the BCHL website at www.bchl.bc.ca or by following the link on Hockey Canada’s RBC Cup section at www.hockeycanada.ca/rbccup.

A trio of BCHL broadcasters will be on hand at the RBC Cup to call the action. Victoria Grizzlies play-by-play man Scott Didmon and Vernon Vipers counterpart Todd Miller will voice their teams’ games respectively while Nanaimo Clippers broadcaster Dan Marshall will call the three preliminary games not involving BCHL clubs.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

For the second time in three years, Canada’s National Junior A Championship is coming to British Columbia, and only five of Canada’s 143 Junior A teams are still standing in the quest to be called national champions. Will it be the defending champions, the all-time winningest team, the 1997 national champs or one of two teams making their national championship debut?

2009 RBC Cup

HUMBOLDT BRONCOS – WEST

The defending RBC Cup champions will look to become the first team since the Vernon Lakers in 1990 and 1991 to repeat as national titleholders. Humboldt ran roughshod over the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League during the regular season, finishing 15 points ahead of the next best team, and it featured the league’s best offence and defence. Leading the way was Broncos captain Brady Wacker – the Top Defenceman at the 2008 RBC Cup – who led the Broncos and all SJHL defencemen in scoring and picked up the league’s Defenceman of the Year and Player of the Year awards. Humboldt needed six games to eliminate the pesky Battlefords North Stars before rolling over Flin Flon in four straight to reach the SJHL final for the third year in a row, where they took just five games to top the Melville Millionaires and win their third-consecutive SJHL championship. Just as they did in 2008, the Portage Terriers provided the opposition for Humboldt in the ANAVET Cup, and the Broncos found themselves in a 3-1 series hole before routing the Terriers 12-2 in Game 5 and winning back-to-back overtime games in Portage to take the West Region championship on Nick Kalnicki’s extra-time winner, booking their ticket to Victoria for the chance to repeat as national Junior A champions.

KINGSTON VOYAGEURS – CENTRAL

From the time the first puck dropped on the OJHL playoffs on February 12 to the final buzzer in the championship game at the Dudley Hewitt Cup on April 25, the Voyageurs played 29 playoff games in 73 days against eight different opponents. Kingston didn’t have a lights-out scorer leading the way – Brock Higgs and Ben Power tied for the team lead with 58 points, good for only 63rd in the 37-team league. The goaltending, however, was a different story, as Shawn Sirman finished third in the OJHL with a 2.36 goals against average, and his .926 save percentage put him second in that category. The Voyageurs posted convincing series wins over Pickering and Ajax and ran off three-straight wins over Peterborough to rebound from an early 2-1 deficit and claim the division playoff championship, advancing to the final four. Kingston needed just five games to eliminate Huntsville and set up an OJHL championship date with the defending champions, the Oakville Blades, and took Games 1 and 2 to pull away from the Blades, wrapping up the league championship on home ice in Game 6. The Voyageurs claimed top spot in the round-robin at the Dudley Hewitt Cup and knocked off Fort William in the championship game to advance to Victoria and their first shot at the RBC Cup.

SUMMERSIDE WESTERN CAPITALS – EAST

For the third time, the Summerside Western Capitals will play for Canada’s National Junior A Championship – but the first time, they won’t play as the host team. The 1997 national champions earned their way in, posting the best record in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League and running roughshod over everyone and everything in their way en route to the league championship. The Capitals spread out their scoring, with five players ranked in the top 10 in MJAHL scoring led by Brad Smith (2nd, 84 points). Summerside rolled to convincing playoff series sweeps against Dieppe and Miramichi and, although they finally lost a game, won its second MJAHL championship in five games over the Truro Bearcats. The Capitals jumped out to a quick start at the Fred Page Cup, knocking off Pembroke and Sherbrooke before a loss to host Dieppe sent them to the semifinal, forcing them to take the longer road to Victoria. Another victory over Pembroke set up an all-MJAHL rematch with Dieppe with a ticket to the 2009 RBC Cup on the line. Locke forced overtime on a goal with eight minutes go, and MacIsaac was the hero, scoring in double overtime to send the Capitals west for the chance to win a second national championship.

VERNON VIPERS – PACIFIC

Ten years after they last stood atop the Canadian Junior A mountain, the Vernon Vipers are back for another crack at the national championship. A win in Victoria will make the Vipers the winningest team in National Junior A Championship history, with five national titles, joining 1990, 1991, 1996 and 1999. Connor Jones was the team’s leading scorer with 60 points, while twin brother Kellan finished third with 52 points, giving the Vipers a deadly one-two look-alike punch. Andrew Hammond was among the league’s best netminders – his 2.30 goals against average was number one, while his .912 save percentage was third-best as Vernon allowed a league-low 145 goals in 60 games. The Vipers quickly dispatched the defending BCHL champions from Penticton in five games in the second round and needed six to top Salmon Arm, moving into the BCHL final. The championship was a classic battle of offence vs. defence – the Powell River Kings scored 251 goals during the regular season, more than any BCHL team. But the Vipers smothered the Powell River offence in Games 1 and 2, posting consecutive shutout victories, and captured their seventh league title in six games. Riding the momentum of the BCHL championship, Vernon made short work of the AJHL-champion Grande Prairie Storm in the Doyle Cup, sweeping the series in four games and booking its spot at the 2009 RBC Cup.

VICTORIA GRIZZLIES – HOST

On paper, the Victoria Grizzlies appear to have a terrific chance to become the first host team since the Weyburn Red Wings in 2005 to win the National Junior A Championship. They set franchise records for wins and points in a season, had the best record in the BCHL, scored the second-most goals and allowed the second-fewest, and did something no host team since Grande Prairie in 2004 was able to accomplish – win a playoff series the same year they hosted the RBC Cup. Trever Hertz led the Grizzlies’ balanced offensive attack, finishing fifth in the BCHL scoring race with 72 points. The Grizzlies’ second-round series against Cowichan Valley looked to be well in hand when the Grizzlies took a 3-1 lead heading back to Bear Mountain Arena for Game 5, but eventually needed seven games to move into the Coastal Conference final. After dropping a pair of games in overtime on home ice and splitting two games in Powell River, the Grizzlies were the ones in trouble, facing a 3-1 deficit of their own. But Victoria rebounded with three-goal wins in Game 5 and 6, meaning they were returning to their home ice for a deciding Game 7. Unfortunately, though, the playoff run ended there, as the Kings scored a 4-1 victory to end one set of championship dreams for the Grizzlies.

This is in the Victoria Times Colonist Newspaper:Lots of fun equals lots of wins for Vipers

By Sharie Epp April 28, 2009

Vernon Vipers coach Mark Ferner knows all about hockey championships, that’s why he wants to make sure his boys have fun at the RBC Cup.“I went to six finals in seven years. I don’t want to jinx myself, but I never won once,” said Ferner, whose 20-year, multi-league junior and professional hockey career included playing in the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings, as well as the Memorial Cup (Western Hockey League), Calder Cup (American Hockey League), and Turner Cup (International Hockey League).In Ferner’s experience, players having a good time play better hockey, and his philosophy has certainly paid off for the Vipers this season. They’ll be making a record sixth appearance at the five-team national Junior A championship, which is being held May 2-10 at Bear Mountain Arena. Besides the hosting Victoria Grizzlies, regional representatives include: the defending-champion Humboldt Broncos of Saskatchewan; P.E.I.’s Summerside Western Capitals; Ontario’s Kingston Voyageurs; and the up-beat Vipers.“When we get to the rink, we like to have fun,” he said. “I’ve told the guys there’s nothing wrong with working hard and having smiles on their faces.”“It’s a lot easier to attract bees with honey, than vinegar.”To get to the Cup, the Vipers started off by finishing the regular season on top of the Interior Conference, two points back of the B.C. Hockey League-leading Victoria Grizzlies. They’ve continued their run by dominating in the playoffs. Through four best-of-seven series victories, the Vipers lost just twice in regulation, and dispatched the Alberta champion Grande Prairie Storm in four straight, despite being sick with the flu in Alberta.“Guys were throwing up between periods,” Ferner said. “Even with that, they fought through it.”That the Vipers are a tough bunch wouldn’t be disputed by the Storm. The Grande Prairie contingent didn’t have any more answers for Vernon’s challenging, physical style of defence than they did for the Vipers’ trio of kamikaze snipers. Twins Connor and Kellen Jones and linemate Sahir Gill have 53 points in 17 playoff games, and they racked up 20 points in the series against the Storm.“They just weren’t going to be denied,” Ferner said. “They’re smaller guys, but they compete so hard. They’re physical, and they’re relentless on the puck.”Once the scoring is in hand, the Vipers have been incredibly stingy in their own zone, with a regular-season record of 45-1-0-1 when leading after two periods. In the deciding Game 4 of the Doyle Cup, the Vipers, up 3-2, held the Storm to just seven shots on net, and goaltender Andrew Hammond has a postseason goals against average of 1.50.Still, Ferner said it’s all relative when it comes to a tournament like the RBC Cup, where one game, one goal, one missed call could make the difference. He has just told his players to trust their systems and themselves, and play thinking every shift could be their last. And whatever happens, he wants them to keep smiling, which is why the team plans to arrive in Victoria a few days before their opener on Sunday.“We’re going to enjoy this, we really are,” Ferner said. “Then let’s go out and win the RBC Cup.”

While most junior A players are at home watching the NHL playoffs on TV, the Vernon Vipers are one game shy of an NHL regular season.With their four-game sweep of the Grande Prairie Storm in the Doyle Cup Pacific regional championship last week, the Snakes have played 81 games this season, the most of any team competing at the Royal Bank Cup, May 2-10 in Victoria.The week-long break was a welcome reprieve for the Vipers, who have been in playoff mode since February.“Getting rested and healthy was the most important part of this week,” said Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner. “This time of year, it’s important to have some rest.“The kids have enjoyed this experience. They’ve worked hard to get to this point.”Vipers’ defenceman Kevin Kraus says it was great to get his mind off hockey, if only for a few days.“We did some team stuff and had some fun just to get away from the rink a bit,” said the 19-year-old Garden Grove, Calif. product. “Now we’re back on the ice and just getting our legs going again.”The Vipers start their ‘Drive For Five’ Sunday against the Eastern regional champion Summerside Capitals of P.E.I. at 2 p.m. They take on the defending champion Humboldt Broncos Monday night (7 p.m.), followed by a Tuesday-night tilt against the host Victoria Grizzlies (7 p.m.).The Broncos had to overcome a 3-1 best-of-seven series deficit to stun the host Portage Terriers 5-4 in a Game 7 overtime thriller Sunday for the Western berth.“I’ve heard of Humboldt and that they usually have a pretty good team,” said Kraus. “Other than that, the only team we know is Victoria.”After a rest day, Wednesday, May 6, the Snakes battle the Central champion Kingston Voyageurs, Thursday, May 7, at 2 p.m. The two semifinals go Friday, May 8 followed by the championship game Sunday, May 10, at 4:30 p.m.All Vipers’ games will be broadcast on 107.5 KISS-FM, with the championship game being aired on TSN.With ice being scarce in Vernon this time of year, the Vipers have had difficulty securing a regular practice time at Priest Valley Arena.“Our practice schedule is all over the map,” said Ferner.The Vipers have said all year that they are built for a seven-game playoff series. That mind set has helped the Snakes battle their way through four grueling series to capture both the Fred Page and Doyle Cup championships.The lingering question is how will the Vipers fare in a winner-take-all, round-robin scenario.“Everything just gets magnified,” said Ferner. “Every decision that we make is going to be important. We don’t have seven games to wear a team down.“It takes six games to win it, so we just have to be a very focused group.”Added Kraus: “It’s new for a lot of guys, but our mind set going in is we have to win every game. Mark gets us focussed and gets us thinking of the right things before a game. We’ll be ready.“It (RBC berth) hasn’t really sunk in. It’s surreal that we’re at this point and that we’re still playing, and it’s May and it’s hot outside.”As for Sunday’s afternoon opener, the Snakes were a perfect 7-0 in B.C. Hockey League Sunday matinees, outscoring their opponents 34-8 with two shutouts.

Robbie Short of the Re/Max Vernon Tigers accepts the Thompson-Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League co-MVP award from vice-president of Player Development Dan Wray of Kelowna. Short and South Okanagan Flames’ goalie Rory McDowell shared the honour. Short is the first-ever Tiger to win the MVP award.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Former Vernon Vipers forward, Ryan Bayda & the Carolina Hurricanes upset the New Jersey Devils 4-3 tonight to take the 7 game series 4-3. Bayda come up with two goals in the series, his first two career Playoff goals. Carolina will now face off against the Boston Bruins.

The Vernon Lakers finished first place in the Interior Division with a record of 40-19-1 good for 81 pts The Lakers finished #2 overall 10 pts behind the #1 ranked New Westminster Royals who collected 91 pts. Here’s a rundown on how the Lakers did through out the BCJHL’s Playoffs to advance to the teams first ever Centennial Cup.

The Vernon Lakers were this years host for the 1990 Centennial Cup. Vernon finished first place in the Interior Division with a record of 33-20-5 good for 71 pts The Lakers finished #3 overall in the BCJHL standings. Here’s a rundown on how the Lakers did through out the BCJHL’s Playoffs to advance to the teams second straight Centennial Cup.

Preliminary Roundrobin Series:

Vernon finished off with a record of 5-2.

BCJHL League Finals: New Westminster defeated Vernon 4-2

Vernon would advance to its second straight Centennial Cup as the host team.

The Centennial Cup 1990 is the Tier II Junior "A" 1990 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.

The Centennial Cup was competed for by the winners of the Doyle Cup, Anavet Cup, Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Callaghan Cup, and a host city.

The tournament was hosted by the Vernon Lakers and Vernon, British Columbia.

The Vernon Lakers finished third place in the Interior Division with a record of 37-20-3 good for 77 pts just 4 pts shy of the first place Chilliwack Cheifs. Here’s a rundown on how the Lakers did through out the BCJHL’s Playoffs to advance to the teams third straight Centennial Cup.

Monday, April 27, 2009

The Vernon Lakers finished in fourth place in the Interior Division with a record of 34-23-3 was good for 71 pts. Here’s a rundown on how the Lakers did through out the BCJHL’s Playoffs to advance to the teams record fourth straight Centennial Cup.

After new ownership and some struggling seasons the Lakers were sold once again, Duncan Wray would change the historic Lakers name to the Vernon Vipers and in 1996 win its first Royal Bank Cup. That year the Centennial Cup had also changed names, now called the Royal Bank Cup. The Vernon Vipers finished in first place in the Interior Division just two pts back of the league leading Chilliwack Cheifs. The Vipers finished the season with a record of 43-13-4 wich was good for 90 pts. Here’s a rundown on how the Vipers did through out the BCJHL’s Playoffs to advance to the teams fifth National Championship winning its 3rd title.

The Vernon Vipers finished with its best season in club history. Finishing top spots in the Interior Division & #1 overall in the BCHL as the leagues best team with a record of 50-6-2 wich was good for 106 pts. Here’s a rundown on how the Vipers did through out the BCHL’s Playoffs to advance to the teams record sixth National Championship & 2nd in the last three years.

It came down to Sunday night to know the last team that would make it into the 2009 RBC Cup. The Humboldt Broncos were down 4-1 entering the third period but it was here where the 2008 RBC Cup Champions put on the pressure and with only 47 seconds left in the game tied the game only to beat the Portage Terriers at 5:56 of the first overtime period.

Here is a brief look at how the teams coming to the capital city later this week fought their way to get here.

Host: Victoria Grizzlies won the BCHL regular season championship and had a bye in round 1. The Grizzlies played the Cowichan Capitals in round 2 and won that tight series in game 7 with a 6-0 victory. The Grizzlies lost in game 7 of round 3 against the Powell River Kings.

Pacific: Vernon Vipers of the BCHL had a bye in round 1 by winning their divison and then went on to beat the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in round 2. Vernon then went on to beat the Powell River Kings in round 3 and win the BCHL title. The next round was against the AJHL champions, Grande Prairie Storm where the Vipers won that series 4-0 and won the 2009 Doyle Cup.

West: Humboldt Broncos: The Broncos winners of last years RBC Cup won the SJHL championship and went on to play the best from Manitoba being the Portage Terriers. The Terriers went up on the series 3-1 but the hard working Broncos fought back to tie the series. Game 7 looked all Portage as they entered the third period up 4-1 at home but the Broncos would not give up. The Broncos netted a couple of PP goals but were still behind with a minute to go when Scott Shroeder scored with 47 seconds left in the third period. The game went into overtime when at 5:56 of the first OT period the home crowd was stunned when the Broncos scored. The Humbold Broncos are the 2009 Anavet Cup Champions.

Central: Kingston Voyageurs. The Voyageurs winners of the OJHL Championship won a birth into the four team round robin championship. The Voyageurs had 2 wins and 1 loss tied with the Fort William North Stars but because of goals for went straight to the final to play the winner of the Schrieder Diesels and Fort William North Stars. The Voyageurs won the final game 4-1 over the North Stars and are the winners of the 2009 Dudley Hewitt Cup.

East: Summerside Western Capitals: Winners of the MJAHL also played in a 4 team round robin tournament. The Capitals ended up in the finals with a 3-1 record only to meet up with the host team Dieppe Gagnon Commandos who were the only team to beat them. The Capitals ended up beating the Commandos 3-2 in the second OT period to earn their spot in the RBC Cup and to win the 2009 Fred Page Cup.

Good luck to all the teams, friends, families and fans who will come to Victoria and the RBC Cup. May everyone have safe travels and enjoy your stay in this beautiful city.

For ticket information visit the Grizzlies website. Online purchases can be done through this site or call 250 385-1555 to speak to the great office staff.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

You can sum up Kyle St. Denis' 2008-2009 hockey season in one word -- frustrating! That would be followed by three exclamation points, not just one. The second year Kelowna Rockets forward has suited up in only 23 of the team's 85 games this season. St. Denis played 15 games before suffering a broken bone in his right hand October 24 against Chilliwack. The injury caused him to miss 37 games. He played just seven games upon his return, only to suffer a head injury against the same Bruins February 18. That injury forced St. Denis to miss another 25 games. The 19-year-old Trail native returned to the Rockets line-up for Tuesday's third game of the Western Conference final with the Vancouver Giants. Although he saw limited ice time in his return, St. Denis admitted after to being tired. It's one thing to be in shape, another to be in game shape. St. Denis hopes to contribute more when the Rockets look to even the series in game four Thursday at Prospera Place. "It's pretty tough. Coming back from my last injury it was during the regular season so the games weren't as intense as they are now," says St. Denis. "It's still tough getting into game shape. I don't think I had the greatest game but I got the first one under my belt, so I think next game will be a little better." The Rockets in general will need to be a 'little better' Thursday. After an impressive opening game 4-2 win Saturday, the Rockets have stumbled in losing 4-3 in overtime Sunday and 3-2 at Prospera Place Tuesday. The Rockets had chances to put the game away in the third period, especially during an extended five-one-three advantage early in the third period of a 2-2 tie, but couldn't beat Tyson Sexsmith. The Vancouver net minder was easily the best player on the ice Tuesday. "He's played well this series. We just have to get pucks on net. We can't be playing on the perimeter like we did tonight. Keep it simple, get pucks to the net and they'll go in," added St. Denis. The series will shift back to Vancouver for game five on Saturday. If a sixth game is necessary, it would be played Monday back at Prospera Place.

20 years ago (1989) The Vernon Lakers would make a long Playoff run, all the way to the team’s first of four straight Centennial Cup’s, in Summerside PEI I will be recapping the Lakers cup run in my version of Vernon Lakers Playoff Flashbacks.

After knocking off the Kelowna Packers in the first round 4-1, The Vernon Lakers would defeat the Merritt Centennials in the Interior Division Finals in 4 games (4-0) Vernon defeat the New Westminster Royals in the BCJHL League Finals, 4 games to 1 winning their 4th BCJHL Championship and second back to back. The Lakers would win the Mowat Cup with a 2-0 series sweep victory over the Williams Lake Mustangs of the (PCJHL) Vernon defeated the rough and tough Red Deer Rustlers four games to 2 (4-2) to take home its first Doyle Cup Championship. Vernon outscored Red Deer 34-21 in a fight filled series. The Lakers would then face off against the Humbolt Broncos winning their first Abbot Cup Championship in team history. The Lakers defeated the Broncos in 6 games (4-2) getting a berth in the teams first ever Centennial Cup. The Lakers outscored the Broncos 27-20.

10 years ago (1999) The Vernon Vipers would make a long Playoff run, all the way to the team’s sith National Championship, in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. I will be re-capping the Vipers cup run in my version of Vernon Vipers Playoff Flashbacks.

After knocking off the Merritt Centennials in the Interior Division Semi-Finals) in 5 games (4-1), The Vernon Vipers would sweep the Prince George Spruce Kings 4-0 in the Interior Conference Championship. The Vipers would knock off the Chilliwack Cheifs in 5 games (4-1) in the BCHL Fred Page Cup Championship to win there 8th BCHL title. The Vipers would defeat the Kimberley Dynamiters (RMJHL) in 4 games (3-1) to take home the Mowat Cup. Vernon would outscore Kimberley 25-11. Vernon would move onto the Doyle Cup vs. the AJHL Calgary Canucks. The Vipers would knock out Danny Heatlys Canucks in 5 games (4-1) to win their 5th Doyle Cup Championship outscoring the Canucks 21-13. Vernon would now head to Yorkton, Saskatchewan for the Royal Bank Cup.

The guest list at the Royal Bank Cup will become a lot clearer today as each of the three remaining regional championships end this weekend.The winners will join the Doyle Cup champion Vernon Vipers (the first team to qualify) and host Victoria Grizzlies at the five-team national championship, May 2-10 at Bear Mountain Arena.The Vipers get a much-needed week’s rest after they swept the Grande Prairie Storm in four straight games in the Doyle Cup.“With our last series with Powell River (Kings)... we were going 11.5 hours of travel back and forth every other night,” said Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner. “You should be banged up. That’s the way playoffs are. We’ve got some bumps and bruises... but (we’ve got) a week to have some downtime and enjoy this (Doyle Cup win).”The Pacific champion Vipers start preliminary play Sunday, May 3 (2 p.m.) against the Eastern champs, followed by a Monday, May 4 tilt against the Western title holders at 7 p.m.They then face the Grizz Tuesday, May 5 at 7 p.m., before getting a rest day Wednesday. Vernon concludes the round-robin Thursday, May 7 (2 p.m.) against the Central winners. Playoffs start Friday, May 8.The Humboldt Broncos forced game six in the ANAVET Cup Western regional championship by blasting the Portage Terriers 12-2 Thursday night at Elgar Peterson Arena.The Terriers lead the series 3-2 and hosted Game 6 Saturday and, if necessary, Game 7 Sunday.The Broncos were up 6-1 after 20 minutes, as Humboldt's best players stepped up for the first time in the series. Brady Wacker fired 3+2 and Scott Schroeder collected 2+2.In Ontario’s Central regional action, the Kingston Voyageurs advanced to Saturday’s Dudley Hewitt Cup final after stopping the Soo Thunderbirds 3-0.They got some help from the host Schreiber Diesels, who brushed back the Fort Williams North Stars 5-2 to join the Stars and Voyageurs at 2-1. The Voyageurs won the tie-breaker on goal differential with plus-11, securing the first-place, round-robin seed for a berth in Saturday night’s final.The North Stars grounded the Diesels in semifinal action Friday night to advance to the finals.In the Fred Page Cup Eastern regional action, the host Dieppe Commandos shut out the Summerside Capitals 2-0 Friday night at J. Louis Levesque Arena in Moncton.The Commandos earned an automatic trip to today’s final, while the Caps took home-team advantage in Saturday’s semi against the Pembroke Lumber Kings. The Kings gonged the Sherbrooke Cougars 5-2 to advance, eliminating the Cougars.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

20 years ago (1989) The Vernon Lakers would make a long Playoff run, all the way to the team’s first of four straight Centennial Cup’s, in Summerside PEI I will be recapping the Lakers cup run in my version of Vernon Lakers Playoff Flashbacks.

After knocking off the Kelowna Packers in the first round 4-1, The Vernon Lakers would defeat the Merritt Centennials in the Interior Division Finals in 4 games (4-0) Vernon defeat the New Westminster Royals in the BCJHL League Finals, 4 games to 1 winning their 4th BCJHL Championship and second back to back. The Lakers would win the Mowat Cup with a 2-0 series sweep victory over the Williams Lake Mustangs of the (PCJHL) The Lakers would outscore the Mustangs 9-5. Vernon now moves onto the Doyle Cup to face off against the Red Deer Rustlers.

Former Vernon Vipers forward, Ryan Bayda scored his first career NHL Playoff goal this past week in Game 3 vs New Jersey. Here's a video clip interview with Ryan Bayda on former North Dakota team mate & current New Jersey Devils forward, Zach Parise .

The Vernon Vipers are going to their 7th National Championship next weekend in Victoria for a chance at winning their 5th Centennial Cup-Royal Bank Cup. It all began 20 years ago, when the Vernon Lakers made their first appearance at the 1989 Centennial Cup in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. The Lakers would end making a record four straight trips to the big dance from 1989-1992 winning it twice back to back in 1990 & 1991 In 1989 the Lakers were eliminated in the round robin going 0-3. In 1990 the City of Vernon would host its first National Championship, hosting the 1990 Centennial Cup. The Lakers would lose in the BCHL League Finals to the powerhouse New Westminster Royals in 6 games (4-2) Due to hosting the tournament the Lakers would get another shot at the title. Vernon would go 3-1 in the round robin before defeating the Nipawin Hawks in the semi-finals. The stage was set as Vernon would get another shot at New Westminster in the finals live on tsn, Cam Sylvans Overtime winning goal sent the Civic Arena into a frenzy as the Lakers would win its first ever Centennial Cup Championship on home ice. In 1991 the Vernon Lakers would make it three straight Centennial Cups with a stop in Sudbury, Ontario. The Lakers would go 2-2 in the round robin, before knocking off the Yorkton Terriers in the semi-finals. Vernon and the host Sudbury Cubs would meet in the finals as the Lakers would win back to back Centennial Cups with a 8-4 victory. Vernon would make its fourth straight Centennial Cup Appearance in 1992 in Winnipeg, Manitoba Vernon would finish off the round robin at top spot with a 3-1 record, but had troubles in the semi-finals losing 5-2 to the Winkler Flyers. The Flyers had upset the back to back Centennial Cup Champion Vernon Lakers. After new ownership and some struggling seasons the Lakers were sold once again, Duncan Wray would change the historic Lakers name to the Vernon Vipers and in 1996 win its first Royal Bank Cup. That year the Centennial Cup had also changed names, now called the Royal Bank Cup. The Vipers travelled back to the big show with a stop in Melfort, Saskatchewan. The team would go 2-2 in the round robin before knocking off the Newmarket 87's in the semi-finals. The final stage was set the Vipers met up against the very strong host team, in the Melfort Mustangs. With the game live on tsn, Vernon would shock the town of Melfort and the Mustangs with a 2-0 victory, this giving the Vernon franchise its 3rd National Championship. Just three seasons later the Vipers would make it back to the Royal Bank Cup, with a stop in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Vernon struggled in the round robin going 1-3 but would upset the top seeded Bramalea Blues in the semi-finals. Once again Vernon was back in the finals and would come home with its fourth National Championship. The Vipers would spank the Charlottetown Abbies 9-3 live on tsn. This years version of the Vernon Vipers play its first game next Sunday at 2pm vs the East Champion.

10 years ago (1999) The Vernon Vipers would make a long Playoff run, all the way to the team’s sith National Championship, in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. I will be re-capping the Vipers cup run in my version of Vernon Vipers Playoff Flashbacks.

After knocking off the Merritt Centennials in the Interior Division Semi-Finals) in 5 games 4-1, The Vernon Vipers would sweep the Prince George Spruce Kings 4-0 in the Interior Conference Championship. The Vipers would knock off the Chilliwack Cheifs in 5 games (4-1) in the BCHL Fred Page Cup Championship. Vernon would outscore Chilliwack 26-18 to win there 8th BCHL title. The Vipers would move on to the Mowat Cup to face off against the Kimberley Dynamiters (RMJHL)

Friday, April 24, 2009

Vernon Vipers graduate Scott Zurevinski capped a successful first season at NCAA Division I Quinnipiac University by being named the team's Rookie of the Year.

Zurevinski's 11 goals were amongst the most by a freshman in the ECAC, while he also added seven assists to total 18.

“Scott brought a great physical presence to our line-up every night,” Bobcats head coach Rand Pecknold said. “He really had a solid all-around season and we look forward to more from him in the future."

Zurevinski will be joined by a number of other BCHL grads next season, including league points leaders Darcy Oakes and Clay Harvey and Coastal Conference Top Defenceman Zack Currie.

Current Vipers forward Connor and Kellen Jones, who played with Zurevinski during the 2007/08 season, are also committed to attend Quinnipiac.

Genoway was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Defensive Player of the Year:

Sunday, April 19, 2009 - Submitted by BCHL Media

Junior defenseman Chay Genoway, a Vernon Vipers alumni, has been named to the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA)/Reebok All-America West second team.

A native of Morden, Manitoba, Genoway was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Defensive Player of the Year this season after recording a career-high 32 points and tying for the team lead with a career-high 29 assists. He was also named to the All-WCHA first team and was an All-College Hockey News second team selection for the second straight season.

In 123 career games, Genoway has 16 goals and 64 assists for 80 points, leaving him 20 points away from becoming only the ninth defenseman in Sioux history to reach the 100-point plateau. His six career game-winning goals are two shy of the UND school record for a defenseman. Genoway is a two-time WCHA Scholar Athlete and a two-time All-WCHA Academic selection.

GRANDE PRAIRIE – The Vernon Vipers might want to consider taking penalties when they need offence at the upcoming Royal Bank Cup.Connor Jones fired his second shorthanded goal in as many games as part of his hat-trick performance to help the Vernon Vipers sweep the Grande Prairie Storm in the Doyle Cup Pacific regional championship Wednesday night at Canada Games Arena.The Storm didn’t really have an answer for Jones, along with twin brother Kellen and Sahir Gill, who accounted for seven points in the Vipers’ 5-2 Game 4 win. Connor, who earned first star in three of the four games (he was second star in the other one), posted 5-5-10 in the best-of-seven.“I’ve got to give all the credit to my linemates; I don’t get anything with out them,” grinned Connor, who opened the scoring at 5:04 with the shorty, on a turnover created by Kellen. “It was a great team effort.“I read the play a couple times and got lucky. Kell made a nice pass on the goal today. It’s lucky bounces, but I worked hard to get them.”The sweep gives the Snakes a well-deserved week’s rest before they take on Canada’s best at the Royal Bank Cup, hosted by the Victoria Grizzlies, May 2-10 at Bear Mountain Arena.“It’s the biggest thing I’ve experienced in my life,” said Connor, of going to the RBC. “I can’t even wait. I told all my friends I’m not coming home until I win it.”Vipers head coach Mark Ferner was thrilled with the sweep, but was surprised by the quick series.“We didn’t expect this at all, but we certainly had tremendous efforts by our group for four games. Even when we were in Vernon, Jason (assistant coach Williamson) and I were talking if we could leave there up 2-1, that would be great.“Even though we had a 2-0 lead and they came back and tied it, our guys didn’t panic. They just continued to do the things they were asked to do.“It’s unbelievable. We’ve got great kids here that don’t complain. And we push them. We push them hard and we identify when they need a little bit of a break. For example, we had an optional skate this morning and there were 19 players out there. That tells you a lot about your hockey team that they like to be around each other, they like to be on the ice. I’m a true believer that championship teams are built off the ice.”With the Storm looking out of sorts in their own end, Connor sucked the life out of the 2,314 fans when he got a stick on a Bryce Kakoske point shot midway through the first frame.Carter Rowney had the best early chances for the Storm, going in alone and drawing a hooking penalty after he caught the Vipers flatfooted on a neutral zone turnover. Late in the period, he banged at a loose puck in front of Andrew Hammond (27 saves), but the Vernon keeper took away the net.Sensing the demise of their season, the Storm came out desperate in the second frame, and it paid off. It took just 96 seconds for the Storm’s Doug Reid to reignite the crowd, as he pounced on a rebound to Hammond’s right.On the very next shift, Grande Prairie forward Tanner Fritz wired a one-timer from the slot, but Hammond managed to get his blocker out to turn it aside. The Prairie boys kept coming as Blake Clement and Brooks Robinson looked primed to go in 2-on-1, but Kevin Kraus read it well to intercept the cross-ice pass.Morgan McLean pulled the Storm even on the powerplay as he cashed in the rebound off Clement’s point shot at 7:02.With the momentum fully in Grande Prairie’s favour, Braden Pimm snatched it back with his second straight series-clinching goal midway through the second.Vipers’ d-man Cameron Brodie delivered a huge hit on Dennis Rix in the corner – drawing an uproar from the crowd who thought it should have been a penalty – to turn over the puck. Chris Crowell collected it, and sprung Pimm up the left wing where he picked the top right corner with a high wrister that handcuffed netminder Chad Carder. He didn’t come out in time to challenge the shot.“It felt pretty good,” grinned Pimm, a Fort St. John product. “They got those two quick ones, and I was like ‘uh-oh,’ but I got that lucky bounce, fired it on net and it went in. He’s a small goalie, so I just threw it upstairs and got lucky and it went in.”McLean’s season got cut short after he was tossed for beaking at the officials about some missed calls shortly after Pimm’s goal. The Storm bench also earned an unsportsmanlike from referee Mark MacIsaac.“We still feel as if we didn’t get our best game played throughout the series yet, so that is disappointing,” said Storm head coach Mike Vandekamp, adding a number of players were battling everything from mono to separated shoulders. “We don’t have the answer yet, but we hit a wall, we were out of gas basically.“That’s normal for this time of year, but it just seemed to take its toll. Every team goes through it, but finally for us, it was our wall. It’s not for lack of trying.“They were just better than we were at this point of the series. That’s disappointing to say, but it’s the honest truth. They have a heckuva team on their side.”“We’ve started a foundation for some success here. There’s quite a culture change with our team, and I’m pretty proud of where we’re going with it. Our kids were extremely dedicated this year, both on and off the ice.”Regarding the Vipers, Vandekamp added: “They’ve got by far the best structure of any team we’ve played this year... a nice balance of different types of players... and by far the biggest and strongest six-man dee corps we’ve played against. Put it all together and I think their chances are awfully good (at RBC), and we wish them all the best.”Rather than clog up the neutral zone, the Vipers actually kept the play in Grande Prairie’s zone for good chunks of the third frame.Kraus fired a powerplay point shot which Connor collected in front of Carder. After drawing the keeper to side, he set up Gill for the easy tap-in at 17:41. Connor iced the game with an empty-netter with 1:18 remaining.In a classy show of support, the Grande Prairie faithful gave the Storm one last round of “Go Storm Go” to end their season, followed by a hearty applause for the Vipers as they claimed the cup.In other regional championship action, the Portage Terriers are one win away from the ANAVET Cup Western title thanks to a 4-1 victory Wednesday night over Humboldt Broncos. The Manitoba league champion Terriers are up 3-1 in their best-of-seven. Game 5 goes Thursday night in Humboldt.In Ontario regional action, the Kingston Voyageurs spanked the tournament host Schreiber Diesels 9-0 in their Dudley Hewitt Cup opener Tuesday night in Northern Ontario. The Diesels responded by grounding the Soo Thunderbirds 2-0 Wednesday.Kingston fell 1-0 to the Fort William North Stars Wednesday afternoon. The Stars stopped the Thunderbirds 2-0 in their Tuesday opener.In the Fred Page Cup Eastern championship, the Summerside Capitals iced the Pembroke Lumber Kings 4-3 and the Dieppe Commandos shaded the Sherbrooke Cougars 2-1 Wednesday at the J. Louis Levesque Arena in Moncton.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

While one final winter storm raged into town last night, Grande Prairie’s winter Storm exited on quite a different note: With a whimper. The Vernon Vipers completed a four-game sweep of the Grande Prairie Storm for the Doyle Cup, last night at the Canada Games Arena, beating them 5-2. The win gives Vernon six Doyle Cup championships – the annual showdown between the top junior teams in Alberta and BC to determine a western representative at the RBC Royal Bank Cup. The Vipers were simply too strong, too deep and too hungry for the Alberta Junior Hockey League champions. “You’ve got to give them a ton of credit – they played fantastic and made it difficult as heck on us,” said Storm coach/GM Mike Vandekamp. “For whatever reason, we haven’t got the answer yet, but we just hit a wall. We were out of gas. “They were just better than we were in the series. It’s disappointing to say, but it‘s the honest truth. They have a heck of a team on their side.” For the second straight game, the Vipers opened the scoring with a short-handed goal – and once again, Connor Jones was the marksman.His twin brother, Kellen, stripped Storm defenceman Matt Williams of the puck, fed Connor in front, who had only Storm goalie Chad Carder to beat. Connor waited for Carder to commit, then deked glove-side for the 1-0 lead. Jones made it 2-0 at the 13-minute mark, redirecting a point shot on a Vernon power play for his second of the night. The entire line of the Jones twins, along with Sahir Gill, were too much for the Storm to handle in the series, particularly Connor. He finished the series with five goals and 10 points to lead all scorers. The entire Storm team had 15 scoring points. “I have to give all the credit to my linemates – I don’t get anything without them,” he said. “The whole team – it was a great team effort. “This (Doyle Cup) is the biggest thing I have ever experienced in my life. I can’t wait to get to Victoria.” The Storm got on the board 86 seconds into the second period, in the most basic of forms: Putting the puck on net. Brendan Turnbull took a shot from an unlikely angle toward Vernon goalie Andrew Hammond, who made the save but could not control the rebound. Doug Reid was parked at the side of the crease and swatted it in for a 2-1 game. Morgan MacLean tied it six minutes later with a snap shot from the slot on a Storm power play. Braden Pimm restored Vernon’s lead midway through the second, catching Carder by surprise with a snap shot from the top of the face-off circle on a lone-man rush. Gill iced the game with a power-play goal, with three minutes to play, taking a cross-crease feed from Connor Jones and tapping it into the wide-open net. Jones completed his hat trick with an empty-netter in the 19th minute. Vernon coach Mark Ferner was surprised at how quickly his team disposed of the AJHL champs. “Absolutely not,” he said, when asked if he envisioned the sweep. “Every series we go into, we are prepared for a long series and we feel like built a hockey team (to withstand) a long series. Obviously this was surprising. We didn’t expect this at all. “But we had tremendous efforts by our group for four games.” Making the achievement even more impressive was that the Vipers did it with virtually no opportunity to scout the Storm.By the time they won their BCHL championship series against Powell River, the Storm had been champions for a week. And with the Storm disposing of Spruce Grove in four straight games, it gave little chance Viper management to send anyone east for observation purposes. It mattered little in the end. “We saw a little bit online, but the one thing about our hockey team is that we don’t worry too much about what other teams do,” said Ferner. “We have a pretty safe system, and the game has been around for way to long for us to try to re-create it.” So, on to Victoria for the Vipers, and a chance at a national championship. Vandekamp would not be surprised to see them succeed in their quest for a third Royal Bank Cup in the 14-year history of the tournament.“I think their chances are exceptional,” he said. “They’ve got, by far, the best structure of any team that we play this year, extremely well coached, obviously. They play hard, have a nice balance of different types of players and they’ve got a great goaltender and by far the biggest and strongest D-corps that we faced, one-through-six. Put it all together and I‘d think their chances are awfully good and we wish them all the best.” As for his team, Vandekamp sees even better things in the future, based on what he saw from his players this season. “We have started a foundation for some success here,” said Vandekamp. “There‘s been quite a culture change with our team and we’re pretty proud of where we’re going with it. Our kids were extremely dedicated this year, both on and off the ice. We knew all along that we didn’t have the perfect template. There (were) some things that we felt were kind of missing within the make-up of our club, and they finally showed through a little bit in this series. But we managed to get a long ways with the group we had and basically it’s all because of the efforts and the sacrifices of the players.” Despite the bitter ending, it was a year of achievement for the Grande Prairie Storm. The franchise set team records for wins and points in the regular season, hoisted the league championship trophy for a second time and boasted numerous scholarships gained for players. “We had a lot of guys that caught the experience of their hockey lives to this point, and maybe their lives in general,” said Vandekamp. “I know they learned a lot and we’re proud of that. That’s what a junior hockey program is supposed to be all about. That’s the type of program that I know first-hand the Vernon Vipers have and other teams around junior hockey that are running good solid programs. It’s all about learning good life lessons and growing up and I think that’s what our kids did this year.”

1990 & 1991 Vernon Lakers Inducted Into Okanagan Sports Hall Of Fame

The 1969-70 & 1971-72 Vernon Essos were inducted into the Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame in November 2014

1999 Vernon Vipers Inducted Into BC Hockey Hall Of Fame

The 1999 Vernon Vipers were inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame In July 2016

On December 2nd 2017 the Vernon Vipers honoured the 1956 Vernon Canadians and former Vernon Esso's legend Wayne Dye. The 1956 Vernon Canadians Allen Cup banner along side Wayne Dye's #8 Legends banner were raised to the rafters at Kal Tire Place

Kal Tire Place-Home to the Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame

The Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1982 through the vision of Vernon resident and sports enthusiast, Nick Alexis. With the support of Vernon City Council, Alexis and a dedicated group of volunteers created a series of outdoor exhibits celebrating the region’s dynamic sporting history in Vernon’s Cenotaph Park. That same year, the new organization unveiled its first round of inductees to the Hall of Fame. Several years later, in 2001, the Hall of Fame moved its exhibits into the newly constructed Vernon Multiplex now known as Kal Tire Place.

About Me

I first created this blog in November of 2008. This coming season will be my ninth season doing this blog. I was born and raised in Vernon, BC and have been going to Junior Hockey games in Vernon since I was a young child. I purchased my first set of season tickets in 1990
I have had season tickets for the last 26 years, Since 1990 I have missed 42 home games.
In September of 2009 I missed my first home game since 2002-03 wich my streak of 236 straight Vipers home games came to an end. Ive missed just three Vipers home games since the 1998-1999 season.
I worked with the Vipers back in 2003-04 as colour comentator helping out with a few games over the internet. In 2011 I helped deisgn, create and put together the Vipers new website for the 2011-12 season. I ran and updated the Vipers website for five seasons, keeping all staff bios and pictures updated, adding new game photos, doing a game preview on game days, as well as adding any Vipers news, scores or BCHL news through out the season.
Over the years I have travelled to Victoria, Dauphin & Camrose to watch the Vipers in the RBC Cup. I was also at the 1990 Centennial Cup & 2014 RBC Cup in Vernon.